I get a lot of email asking similar questions, so I thought I’d post this latest one and my answer:Hi, I’m a fan of the Lemonade Mouth series. I live in the UK. I saw the film and decided to read the books, I loved them. I’m a GIANT lemonhead and I really want a second film made based on Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up you’ve written. I love your books and I am thirteen and want to write a book myself. Could i have any tips? Thanks, — Lemon Head uk

BE HEARD BE STRONG BE PROUD MY SPIRIT IS A LION THAT WILL NOT BE CAGED WE WANT LM 2

Dear Lemon Head uk,

I’m so glad the Lemonade Mouth movie led you to read the books! As far as writing tips, just keep writing and writing. Share your work with other writers who care about writing and improving, and read their work too. A big tip: Forming a writing critique group (for example, get together regularly with friends who also write and want to improve) is a great way to do this. Give good, thoughtful feedback about their work. Listen to the good, thoughtful feedback they give to you. Read a lot. Write some more. Read some more. Keep following your passion.

Detention that day was downstairs with Mrs. Reznik, the music teacher. When I walked into the music room, a cluttered, windowless basement space near the A.V. closet and the school’s boiler room, the little radio on Mrs. Reznik’s desk was playing a commercial with a catchy jingle, that “Smile, Smile, Smile” one about teeth. It kind of stuck in my mind. That’s not unusual for me. There’s always some tune or other drifting around in my head.

Anyway, just as the bell rang I took a seat near the back. I was trying to concentrate on my breathing. I sometimes get panic attacks in stressful situations and right then I needed to keep calm. Nobody spoke. Mrs. Reznik sat at her desk, coughing and scowling as she leafed through a giant pile of paperwork. A tiny, narrow-faced lady with a body shaped like a piccolo, skin like worn shoe leather, and a startlingly large nest of lustrous brown hair, she was a sight to behold. I’d seen her reduce kids to tears with one look. There were rumors that the school administration had been trying to force her into retirement, but they couldn’t get rid of her. I could understand why. The woman scared the pee out of me.

I studied the blackboard where she’d set down the law in sharp, spidery chalk letters.

DETENTION RULES: 1. No gum chewing, food or drink in the classroom. 2. You will remain seated. 3. You will not talk. 4. The first time you break a rule, your name will go on the board. The second time, you will receive another detention.

Yesterday I was in Madison, NJ and ran into a family friend, 8 year old Tanasia K., a singer, dancer, actress, and big-time Lemonade Mouth fan, who told me that her friends never believe her when she says she knows me and my family. Here you go, Tanasia – evidence. She told me that once I post this picture she could show it to her friends and say, “Ba-BAM!Proof!” So, let’s all say it together: